Matthew 5:4

Blessed are they that mourn,.... For sin, for their own sins; the sin of their nature, indwelling sin, which is always working in them, and is a continual grief of mind to them; the unbelief of their

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

The world is mistaken in accounting the jocund and merry companions the only happy men; their mirth is madness, and their joy will be like crackling of thorns under a pot: but those are rather the happy men, who mourn; yea, such are most certainly happy, who mourn out of duty in the sense of their own sins, or of the sins of others, or who mourn out of choice rather to suffer afflictions and persecutions with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. Though such sufferings do excite in them natural passions, yet it is a blessed mourning, for those are the blessed tears which God will wipe at last from his people’ s eyes, and such are these. They shall be comforted, either in this life, with the consolations of the Spirit, or with their Master’ s joy in the life that is to come, . So as this promise, and declaration of blessedness, is not to be extended to all mourners, but only to such as God hath made so, or who in duty have made themselves so, obeying some command of God, for sympathizing with God’ s glory, or with his afflicted people, , or testifying their repentance for their sins; for there is a mourning which is a mere natural effect of passion, and a worldly sorrow which worketh unto death, as well as a godly sorrow working repentance to salvation, .

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Ver. 4. Blessed are they that mourn] For sin, with a funeral sorrow (as the word signifieth), such as is expressed by crying and weeping, Luke 6:25, such as was that at Megiddo, for the loss of good Josiah; or as when a man mourns for his only son, Zechariah 12:10. (πενθος, luctus ex morte amicorum. Steph. As the widow of Nain; as Jacob for Joseph; as David for his Absalom.) This is the work of the Spirit of grace and of supplication: for till the winds do blow these waters cannot flow, Psalms 147:18. He convinceth the heart of sin, and makes it to become a very Hadadrimmon for deep soaking sorrow, upon the sight of him whom they have pierced, Zechariah 12:10. When a man shall look upon his sins, as the weapons, and himself as the traitor, that put to death the Lord of life, this causeth that sorrow according to God, that worketh repentance never to be repented of, 2 Corinthians 7:10. For they shall be comforted] Besides the comfort they find in their very sorrow (for it is a sweet sign of a sanctified soul, and seals a man up to the day of redemption, Ezekiel 9:4), they lay up for themselves thereby in store a good foundation of comfort "against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life," as the apostle speaketh in another case, 1 Timothy 6:19. These April showers bring on May flowers. They that here "sow in tears shall reap in joy;" they that find Christ’ s feet a fountain to wash in, may expect his side a fountain to bathe in. Oh, how sweet a thing is it to stand weeping at the wounded feet of Jesus, as that good woman did! to water them with tears, to dry them with sighs, and to kiss them with our mouths! None, but those who have felt it can tell the comfort of it. The stranger meddleth not with this joy. When our merry Greeks, that laugh themselves fat, and light a candle at the devil for lightsomeness of heart, hunting after it to hell, and haunting for it ale houses, conventicles of goodfellowship, sinful and unseasonable sports, vain and waterish fooleries, &c., when these mirthmongers, I say, that take pleasure in pleasure, and jeer when they should fear, with Lot’ s sons-in-law, shall be at a foul stand, and not have where to turn them, Isaiah 22:13; Isaiah 23:14; God’ s mourners shall be able to "dwell with devouring fire, with everlasting burnings," to stand before the Son of man at his second coming. Yea, as the lower the ebb, the higher the tide; so the lower any hath descended in humiliation, the higher shall he ascend then in his exaltation. Those that have helped to fill Christ’ s bottle with tears, Christ shall then fill their bottle (as once he did Hagar’ s) with the water of life.

(4) They that mourn.—The verb is commonly coupled with weeping (Mark 16:10; Luke 6:25; James 4:9; Revelation 18:15-19). Here, as before, there is an implied, though not an expressed, limitation. The “mourning” is not the sorrow of the world that worketh “death” (2 Corinthians 7:10) for failure, suffering, and the consequences of sin, but the sorrow which flows out in the tears that cleanse, the mourning over sin itself and the stain which it has left upon the soul. They shall be comforted.—The pronoun is emphatic. The promise implies the special comfort (including counsel) which the mourner needs; “comforted” he shall be with the sense of pardon and peace, of restored purity and freedom. We cannot separate the promise from the word which Christendom has chosen (we need not now discuss its accuracy) to express the work of the Holy Ghost the Comforter, still less from the yearning expectation that then prevailed among such of our Lord’s hearers as were looking for the “consolation”—i.e., the “comfort”—of Israel (Luke 2:25).

Verse 4. Blessed are they that mourn] That is, those who, feeling their spiritual poverty, mourn after God, lamenting the iniquity that separated them from the fountain of blessedness. Every one flies from sorrow, and seeks after joy, and yet true joy must necessarily be the fruit of sorrow. The whole need not (do not feel the need of) the physician, but they that are sick do; i.e. they who are sensible of their disease. Only such persons as are deeply convinced of the sinfulness of sin, feel tho plague of their own heart, and turn with disgust from all worldly consolations, because of their insufficiency to render them happy, have God's promise of solid comfort. They SHALL BE comforted, says Christ, παρακληθησονται, from παρα, near, and καλεω, I call. He will call them to himself, and speak the words of pardon, peace, and life eternal, to their hearts. See this notion of the word expressed fully by our Lord, Matthew 11:28, COME UNTO ME all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

4. mourn] Those who mourn for sin are primarily intended; but the secondary meaning, “those who are in suffering and distress,” is not excluded. The first meaning is illustrated by 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

Blessed are they that mourn - This is capable of two meanings: either, that those are blessed who are afflicted with the loss of friends or possessions, or that they who mourn over sin are blessed.

4. They that mourn — Of course all the terms are to be understood as within the sphere of religion. The mourning is not secular, but religious grief — penitence. As sin is the only essential evil, so this mourning is for sin.